


pit-a-pat (home run)

by jeolmeoniji



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Baseball, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Chasing Your Dream, Cute, Light Angst, M/M, Meeting Again, Past Relationship(s), baseball player Johnny, highschool sweethearts johnten meet again years later, tattoo artist ten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:35:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25962196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeolmeoniji/pseuds/jeolmeoniji
Summary: Ten raised his hand and pointed at Johnny's cap.“So you're part of the Doosan Bears team, aren't you?”Johnny was actually surprised Ten was pointing it out, as if baseball wasn't a delicate subject related to their past relationship. It showed Johnny that they weren't the two teenagers from highschool anymore.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny, side Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee - Relationship
Comments: 14
Kudos: 136





	pit-a-pat (home run)

**Author's Note:**

> kinda inspired by the 127 in baseball uniform yes you're welcome

The friendly match held every other Sunday in the Jamsil Baseball Stadium had barely finished, giving another win to the Doosan Bears team. Mark was thrilled, and that made several of the members laugh of barely concealed fondness. Their youngest member had joined the club not so long ago, but was already an ace who made his way into everyone's heart in no time. Johnny saw him as his own little brother, probably like everyone else. It was always refreshing to see Mark enjoying to the fullest every experience they had during their baseball practices and their matches. He for sure was a good addition to the team, and Johnny was certain that he could even make it into the final line-up for the annual league against the other teams of South Korea.

Johnny was excited for this time to come; it meant crazy training and more stress, but it also meant more time on the sports field that he liked since twenty years. The sound of the baseball hitting the leather glove when he caught a difficult throw, the sound of the baseball bat hitting the ball, this almost metallic one, and the ball flying far away while he sprinted through the bases. The green of the field, the vast bleachers so empty during practice but overflowing during match days. The sound that announced someone made a home run, which was always exhilarating.

Winning a match always felt good, and Johnny changed from his white and tight uniform into a more loose outfit after a shower with a permanent smile. He kept his baseball cap with the logo of their team on it, too lazy to style his hair more.

He exited the locker room with Mark by his side, who was babbling about some technical matters that happened during the match, talking strategy with stars in his eyes. Johnny knew it wasn't the only reason their youngest was so excited – more than usual at least, and that was something to say.

“Isn't it because Donghyuck came to see you play today that you seem so happy?”

Yuta, who jogged to catch up on them, put his arm around Mark's shoulders and teased him with his usual grin.

It didn't fail: Mark became crimson, and it wasn't because of exhaustion after running around the field.

“You have a date later, right? That's why you changed into a clean pair of our uniform pants, I bet Donghyuck will love the thighs action.”

Mark whined a vibrant offended _hyung!_ , but Yuta and Johnny guffawed. On top of being their golden young ace, Mark was also funny and easy to tease; he was dating Donghyuck since a month top, who was a fervent fan of the Doosan Bears and at first only a “friend” of Mark – but if you asked Johnny, Donghyuck had pined over Mark for a long time. Mark was just, too oblivious sometimes. The blossom of their relationship was one of the team's favourite subjects to talk about, and today wasn't an exception.

It was adorable to see Donghyuck coming to their training sometimes, patiently waiting at the bleachers and cheering on them – and enjoying the view of his boyfriend in white and cute baseball uniform. No one was fooled – Donghyuck obviously loved it, and that flustered Mark to no end.

Johnny was truly happy for him, but today he couldn't help to be lost in his own head, his own memories. To see Donghyuck cheering on Mark so loudly and adorably, it reminded him of a certain someone that he had not seen in years, and maybe the bittersweet tinge in his heart was hard to ignore.

At one point, he had the exact same; an adorable boyfriend who would cheer for him in such an over-the-top way that Johnny would sometimes lower his cap on his eyes to hide his red cheeks. It had been so long – back in highschool. Johnny remembered the school baseball club, the dusty field behind the sports building, the sunny afternoons with his classmates, and in the middle of this, his highschool sweetheart, Ten. Sneaky and funny and proud and understanding, creative and attentive, always here to wait for him after practice and to go to his matches against other schools. Johnny remembered that Ten would always doodle on his books if he didn't have homework to do while waiting for the end of Johnny's training.

Did he still do that, the doodling, nowadays? It'd been so long he'd seen him.

After all, he had no reason to.

When Johnny exited the Stadium facilities with Yuta and Mark, they directly spotted Donghyuck. He did spot them too, and skipped toward them with an obvious enthusiasm that was adorable to see. He took Mark's hand in his once he was next to them, and congratulated them again for their victory.

“If you keep that up, you'll be invincible for the championship and I'll be able to say I'm dating a winner of the baseball national cup!” he added, laughing when Mark's cheeks reddened even more.

His boyfriend elbowed him in the ribs, and to shut him up, he took his own Doosan Bears cap that he put on Donghyuck's ruffled hair. That made the trick – Donghyuck now got red cheeks as well, a shy yet happy smile on his face – and Mark bided his teammates goodbye, pulling Donghyuck by the hand so they'd go to their chosen date place.

Yuta quickly left Johnny too, running toward the subway station with his backpack thrown over his shoulder. Johnny could go take the bus to reach his apartment faster – he didn't have any plan for the end of the afternoon – but he chose to take the longer way, and walked past the bus stop to enjoy a stroll. The fresh air would do him good, after the adrenaline of the match and the little emotional crash he had involuntarily.

The weather was nice on them so Johnny could enjoy being outside. It was still early in the night – late in the afternoon – and Seoul was full of life and people, restaurants already busy and noisy, just like cafés full of students with their laptops or groups of friends enjoying coffee even if they wouldn't like the caffeine to prevent them from falling asleep later.

Johnny strolled the streets with a relaxed pace, wondering what he could do for the end of the day. It just happened that they didn't organize anything with the team members that night, as they had already done so the Friday before for a birthday.

That was in the dilemma to choose between pizza or tteokbokki that Johnny got distracted by the sound of a phone falling just next to him. Without thinking, he bent a bit to pick it up and restitute it to the person who dropped it.

When he raised his eyes and looked at the clumsy guy frozen in front of him, Johnny was hit with several realizations.

The guy was crying; his eyes were swollen, red like his cheeks, and dried tears were covered by fresh ones. He was sniffling a bit, too, and Johnny wondered if he had a tissue.

The most important realization was that this person wasn't a stranger – far, far from being one. Or maybe he was, in a sense. Because it was Ten, but he also had not seen Ten in more than five years now, and he must have changed so much, must have lived so many new experiences, that it could outweigh the person Ten was in highschool and make him a stranger now.

The last realization, the one that hurt too, unexpectedly, that Johnny saw coming crashing onto him without a moment to take a deep breath, was that his heart betrayed him. There was this new flutter in his heartbeats, of something so long forgotten who finally rose and moved again, against all odds. Ten was as speechless as Johnny, but the way his eyes widened and his mouth was slightly opened in surprise could prove Johnny that he had recognized him, too.

For a few seconds, they kept silent in front of each other, as if the reality they were in was just a glitch and they'd go back to being two strangers that didn't share a past at all. When the tension became ridiculous between them, Ten looked like he came out of his own daze, and while his right hand lifted to grip at his phone, his other hand hurriedly wiped his wet cheeks, his eyes looking at everything but Johnny's eyes.

“T-thank you,” Ten stuttered, and after so many years Johnny got to hear Ten's voice again, even if it was a bit hoarse probably because of how he'd been crying.

Johnny couldn't help but think why.

Who put Ten in that state?

The cold phone slipped out of between his fingers when Ten retrieved it, and it could have been all. Johnny could simply nod and walk again, leaving Ten in the middle of this street with sad eyes and a scratched phone. Johnny could keep Ten away, keep him in the past.

But the pull of his heart was too strong, so Johnny decided he didn't want it to be all they got. He didn't want to leave Ten, again. There was no baseball related thing to attend, he was back from a match and he was free. If Ten wanted to follow Johnny, it was all his decision.

“You're welcome, Ten,” Johnny softly replied.

Ten's eyes widened a little bit more; as if he wasn't expecting Johnny to call him by his name. It was acknowledging they knew each other – or at least, they knew their past selves. Johnny calling Ten at that moment was a little step in his direction, to show that he was not going away, except if Ten decided he didn't want to have anything to do with who Johnny was at that moment.

“Is your phone working?” Johnny continued, concerned.

Ten fumbled with it in his hands, looking between Johnny's face and his phone screen, and he hurriedly unlocked it – without any problem.

“It's okay,” he whispered, but obviously the state of his phone didn't look like a priority right now. He raised his head again, looking a bit more into Johnny's eyes, assessing the way his eyebrows were knitted in worry, the way some strands were messy on his forehead with his baseball cap thrown to hide his unstyled hair. “It's been– it's been a long time, Johnny.”

“Right?” Johnny replied with an encouraging smile. He was so glad Ten was talking to him.

Before he could ask a question – he hesitated to ask _how are you doing?_ , because Ten had obviously been crying and he didn't want to sound like a robot – Ten raised his hand and pointed at Johnny's cap.

“So you're part of the Doosan Bears team, aren't you?”

Johnny was actually surprised Ten was pointing it out, as if he knew already, as if baseball wasn't a delicate subject related to their past relationship. It showed Johnny that they'd grown, that they weren't the two teenagers from highschool anymore.

It's not like they left each other on really bad terms, but sometimes there were these _what ifs_ that Johnny couldn't help but think of. It led nowhere, obviously, and he was happy with what his life was now.

But seeing Ten again, when he wasn't expecting to, it's like it changed everything; like it unveiled something for Johnny that he didn't know he wanted to pursue but that he was able to now.

“I am,” Johnny proudly replied, before asking, “hey, are you busy right now, or... I mean, I don't have anything planned tonight, and I thought that if we wanted to chat a bit, we could go grab a coffee instead of staying in the middle of the sidewalk. If that's ok with you.”

A soft smile blossomed on Ten's face, and Johnny was pleased to see him like that. Ten still seemed fragile, a bit like a wildflower that got it rough after a hard rain, but he was still standing in front of Johnny.

“I think a hot tea would do me good right now,” Ten replied. “Any coffee shop in mind?”

It was so easy. So easy and so gentle.

“I can lead the way, it's really close.”

They ended up in a calm and heartwarming coffee shop Johnny liked to go to when he had time to relax. There were a few corners with armchairs that were perfect to relish in the soft music and fragrances of the place, made to be a bit more hidden and intimate with no one to bother. After they each ordered at the countertop and got their drinks, they sat down with delight.

Ten rolled up his sleeves, and something dark shifting on the skin of his right forearm caught Johnny's eyes. With surprise, he noticed Ten had a tattoo, the sharp and symmetrical shapes a contrast with the swirls of steam coming out of Ten's mug of tea that he took in his hands once his sleeves were tucked above his elbow.

Johnny recognized Ten's high school doodles in some of the lines of his tattoo design.

So he did continue doodling, didn't he? And he got so much better at it, too, to the point of becoming art with Ten's skin as the canvas.

Johnny saw again their high school bleachers, Ten's black hair as black as the tattoo he had right now, Ten's mischievous smile and his hands blotched with ink.

Johnny loved it, to see how a detail from their past evolved and could now be seen brighter and prouder in the present. (Maybe Ten had thought the same, when he had mentioned how Johnny was part of the Doosan Bears team; that he had worked hard and had managed to become a professional baseball player, after years of school matches.)

Ten had noticed Johnny's curious eyes, and he laughed while raising his tea to his face to barely hide his amusement.

“You're looking at my tattoo.”

“It's your design, right? It looks similar to what you did in high school.”

“It is. I actually own a tattoo parlor,” Ten confessed.

Johnny let out an impressed gasp – Ten had always been playing around with so many mediums for his art, and apparently he had settled on one for his work.

“Here in Seoul?”

“Yup. I opened it last year with my friend Kun. Actually it's Kun who tattooed me, after my own design.”

Johnny caught every little new information Ten shared with him and kept them cradled in his arms with enthusiasm, however careful, as if Ten would drop a few words about his life and then return to it without leaving the door open for Johnny to follow him.

To know that it's been several months, if not a few years, that both Ten and he were in the same city again, without having met again, it made Johnny's head spin a little. It was like all the possibilities that could have been but never revealed themselves, to then materialize in that same Sunday early evening.

“If you ever wanna get tattooed, you can check if our works match what you have in mind. Our shop name is _Dream Launch_. Wait, are you even allowed to have tattoos at your work?” Ten added as an afterthought.

Johnny nodded, “it's fine, they are not against it.”

Ten hummed, and then kept silent to enjoy his tea. Johnny took several sips of his beloved iced coffee. In the little time they took to go to the coffee shop and chat a bit, Ten looked better – he wasn't crying anymore, and his cheeks were free of tears – but he still looked a bit tired, obviously something keeping him upset in his mind. But Johnny didn't think he was allowed to ask something so personal when they barely met each other after years of being apart.

“Actually,” Ten carefully talked again, and he shifted a little bit on his armchair, “I went to a few of your team's matches, when I came back to Seoul. It was– it was nice to see you on the field again.” Ten gave a tentative smile, and the flutter Johnny tried to ignore in his chest heightened, fighting hard to be noticed and acknowledged.

Johnny was a bit speechless, and flattered, and confused. That Ten knew he was part of the baseball team, that was one thing, but that he actively took the time to go watch Johnny and his teammates play –

“Did you really?”

Ten coughed, “yes. I saw an ad for your team, once, and I recognized you in the pictures. It made me really happy to see that you've made it, Johnny,” he added with a warm smile, staring right at him before avoiding his eyes again, “and I think in the frenzy of my moving back to Seoul, I wanted to see something familiar to feel a little bit more settled, so I bought a ticket for a match, once.”

Johnny couldn't wrap his mind around what Ten had just confessed. That watching Johnny on a baseball field could help him feel more at ease, to watch something familiar to bring him peace. Ten had watched Johnny in his school baseball uniform for so many years, until he couldn't anymore because of the distance. Yet it had been a view he'd kept in his mind, that apparently brought him serenity.

Johnny actually would have not expected that. He thought baseball left a bittersweet taste in Ten's mouth, after they broke up because of it.

Ten got the courage to look at him once again while Johnny was still silent.

“You really made it, right?” he repeated, with a hint of fondness. “After everything, leaving Korea for the States to follow your special training, it must have been hard, but you succeeded. I am proud.”

That Ten openly talked about the reason why they broke up was a move Johnny had not seen coming. He saw themselves again, barely eighteen and with the world so vaste in front of them, each with their dreams and opportunities, loving each other but also realizing that it wasn't something that they could keep if they wanted to pursue what they liked.

They broke up not because they didn't share feelings anymore, but because it was the best decision to do at that time. Johnny had received a valuable opportunity to follow a training in Chicago to be part of a professional baseball team, allowing him to continue what he liked best and make it his job. And at first Johnny had hesitated to accept it because it meant leaving Seoul and leaving _Ten_ , but Ten had always understood life better than him, and had reasoned him so he would take that golden opportunity.

Ten wasn't part of it, but he had accepted it before Johnny had.

And now here they were, years later. Both the results of their own decisions, living their dreams. Open to new things, again, now that their jobs were settled. At least, Johnny was.

What about Ten?

“And you made it too, and I'm just as proud,” Johnny replied with sincerity.

Ten slightly laughed.

“You don't know what my tattoo parlor looks like, while I've seen what you can do on the field, though. How can you be so sure that I've made it?”

He was right.

“You sounded so happy to talk about your work, and– Kun, was it? It's obvious you take pride in this, as you should. It's been so long we haven't seen each other, but I know how hardworking you are, Ten. If you're happy with what you've done so far, then to me it means that you've made it, and I'm happy for you.”

Ten stayed silent, his stare focused on his tea but obviously not really looking at him, more absorbed by his thoughts.

“Do you know why I was crying when we bumped into each other in the street?” he blurted suddenly.

Johnny shook his head no slowly, but ready to listen.

Ten let out a deep sigh, and when he talked again his voice was wobbling a bit.

“I just got dumped by my boyfriend. And,” he scurried to add, before Johnny could say something dumb like _I'm so sorry_ , “and I knew things weren't working between us, not the way I wanted anyway. I wasn't really surprised, but, but it still hurt. Because I began to wonder what was wrong with me, I wondered if I had to continue seeing each one of my relationships finish pathetically like this. I was getting really worked up, and then– and then I dropped my phone and you picked it up.”

Johnny sucked in a breath.

“I know it sounds silly, but– but it's like fate, you know? When I saw you again, with the same shocked face that I probably had, and that you talked to me, that you said my name, I thought that I missed it and that I didn't want to miss it ever again.”

Ten licked his lips, nervous but looking certain of his words.

“We're not eighteen anymore, we're not chasing after every way to achieve our dreams because we managed to get to that point and we're working on keeping it stable. We're not separated by oceans anymore. Johnny, if that's okay with you, I would... I would love to see you again, after this impromptu reunion we got. I don't want to act like only this would suffice to me.”

Ten sounded a bit desperate, and it broke a little something in Johnny's heart, like he remembered the heartbreak it had been that they had to separate after high school with the thought they wouldn't see each other again, swept away by life events that didn't bring them close at all.

But they met again. Johnny couldn't ignore the feelings he had when he saw Ten again, the pitter-patter of his heart, the fondness that was obviously still there, and most of all, the want he had to know more about Ten, to learn what he'd experienced when they were apart, to relearn him. The yearning and the anticipation.

Johnny wondered when was the last time he'd felt so alive with this kind of feelings.

It didn't really matter if Ten meant it as a friendship or more. They had so much time to get to know each other again, to see how they would evolve around each other, what road they'd take this time; Johnny was already happy that Ten was once again in front of him.

“We've got another match in two weeks,” Johnny blurted out, “I can get you a ticket this time. For your friends too, if you want. It'd be like, fancy and all, in the VIP section.”

Ten was speechless for a few seconds, and then he chuckled, and it became a full laugh that he tried to lower down not to bother the other customers of the coffee shop. His eyes wrinkled at the corners because he was amused, and he was looking at Johnny with something similar to fondness. Johnny had missed it.

“Is that really how you're telling me that you'd love to continue to see me, too?”

Ten wiped a tiny tear of laughter, that was more appreciated than the ones he'd shed because of an ex-boyfriend and self doubt.

“I'd love to see you again after today, yes,” Johnny answered, a bit sheepish, but happy he made Ten laugh, happy they didn't stop there.

“Then it's settled. I'd love to come see your match. You better do your best, and I hope we'll have champagne in the VIP section.”

Johnny recognized Ten's cheeky remarks, something he obviously had not lost despite the years.

“I think you would have fun with Donghyuck,” Johnny commented, “he's our youngest teammate's boyfriend and he's always here to cheer on us, so you'll probably meet him.”

It was exciting to share parts of his life to Ten again; not only what was related to baseball, but his friendships as well.

“Did he remind you of me, sometimes?” Ten asked.

Johnny couldn't lie about that, “yes, he did.”

And when they shared a knowing smile, Johnny was certain Ten pictured the both of them back in high school, with Johnny sweating on the field while Ten was on the bleachers doodling. The image overlapped with what they could imagine would happen soon again, and Johnny couldn't wait for it to become reality.

(They left the café with their numbers saved and the promise to see each other soon, even sooner than the next baseball match.)

**Author's Note:**

> *sprinkling johnten crumbs* i hope you liked it <3
> 
> (yes the baseball team name is real and i chose it because bears and johnny is a papa bear ok)
> 
> comments and kudos make me (and every writer) happy :D
> 
> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/_renjunbaobei) \+ [cc](https://curiouscat.me/jeolmeoniji)


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